Solar Power Collector Satellite

Regardless of the debate over solar panels in the Mojave Desert, California soon could be powered by solar energy from a unique source.  That’s right, the Golden State is reaching for solar energy from space.

Led by the San Francisco-based utility, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, residents of California may soon be benefiting from the efforts of Solaren Corporation, a solar start-up, to tap into the vast solar resources just beyond the atmosphere.  The proposed project would require the launch of a huge array of solar power collectors into orbit about 23,000 miles above the surface of Earth.

With the California proposal, solar energy would be beamed down from the satellite.  A contract between PG&E and Solaren requires the new technology to work, of course!  Hopefully, it will be a huge success as the goal is to power over 150,000 homes with the space-based solar energy.

Space-based solar power on the horizon

You may be wondering about the cost for such an ambitious project?  Currently, ballpark figures are over $2 billion.  However, with the advancing technology, solar power from space is expected to be comparable with Earth-based energy, but much cleaner.

This technology is not yet here, but is expected by the year 2016.  It is hoped that the project will bring the state a step closer to the goal of 20% renewable energy by 2012, which rises to 30% by 2030.

Whether you think this is “pie in the sky” or achievable, you can at least look to the fact that space-based solar power has been the energy source for commercial satellites for 30-40 years.

Let’s beam that power back down to Earth, don’t you agree?

The United States Pentagon is conducting a study on this subject, and NASA and the federal Department of Energy are also involved in looking into solar power from space. Preliminary estimates are that 1.2 million jobs could be created by developing space-based solar power  (SBSP) into a viable industry very soon.  As summarized on the National Space Society’s website, solar power from space can be obtained as follows:

“The basic idea is very straightforward: place very large solar arrays into continuously and intensely sunlit Earth orbit (1,366 watts/m²), collect gigawatts of electrical energy, electromagnetically beam it to Earth, and receive it on the surface for use either as baseload power via direct connection to the existing electrical grid, conversion into manufactured synthetic hydrocarbon fuels, or as low-intensity broadcast power beamed directly to consumers.”

Um, yeah.  That sounds pretty complicated to me.  To the right is a picture of the proposed sattelites, fitted with solar panels, which would collect solar power from space.

In order to get a better understanding of what would be required to get solar power from space, the following video was made.  Its creators call on the President-Elect to support their efforts, and they also hope to inspire students to become future engineers, scientists, researchers in the solar field.

Perhaps one of the most astounding facts I learned in preparing this post is that a single kilometer-wide band of the Earth’s orbit “experiences enough solar flux in one year to nearly equal the amount of energy contained within all known recoverable conventional oil reserves on Earth today.”  In other words, if we can start using solar power from space, in just one year we’ll gather enough energy than we ever could if we drilled every last bit of oil out of the ground.  With statistics like this, I don’t know why we wouldn’t pursue this incredible opportunity!

Equally important is the idea of job creation.  Today’s economy is in shambles, but one of the few remaining growing fields is in renewable energy.  Students could start preparing for a future in space-based solar power strategy.  Air Force Col. Michael “Coyote” Smith, a space-based solar power strategist, explains:

“A program to build space-based solar power technology would require people across hundreds of career tracks, ranging from electrical, mechanical, and aerospace engineers to metallurgists and welding technicians.”

Of course, one of the biggest stumbling blocks is the potential costs of solar power from space.  While the benefits include the fact of unobstructed view of the sun by the solar panels, as well as zero greenhouse emissions, the cost of constructing the satellites and launching them into space may be prohibitive.  For now.  Personally, I would love to see support for the research programs of the Pentagon, NASA and Department of Energy with respect to solar power from space.

Remember how people didn’t believe Kennedy when he said we could put a man on the moon?  I think the same leap of faith is required here.  This is one space race we cannot afford to lose.